I attended zippo's circus in Leicester on Wednesday 19th October at 7.30pm my review is below:
There were lots of different acts and I'm not sure I can remember all of them, but I'll try my best to tell you what I thought about the ones I can remember
There was a clown, obviously I suppose, what with it being a circus and all! He was very good for young children, he did some slapstick and just general clowning around. I found that after a while the repetition of what he was doing became annoying, although the younger children didn't seem to grow tired of it..... A good example of this is when he used a whistle to 'talk' with, it worked excellently the first time, and then I felt it all just became a bit old. I also felt that (as Bill said) there could have been more context to the slapstick work as opposed to just throwing pies at each other for the sake of it, or picking up a plank of wood and spinning around until it inevitably hit the other clown in the head.
My favourite act was the contortionists, their flexibility never ceased to amaze me, I found it particularly interesting due to the gymnastics I do. The best, most amazing part of their act by far in my opinion was when one of the contortionists balanced her entire body weight on a stick...... which was in her mouth! the two of them worked really well together and hugely complemented each other, one of them appeared to be a base and the other the top as they climbed and balanced upon one another. I feel as though their costumes were also the best, they were orange catsuits with slits where a black material showed through, it reminded me of tigers, precise, slick and wonderful creatures.
There was also a man on bungee's, when he first came out I had high hopes, he looked very professional with white trousers on and complementary make-up. His make-up and costume put me in mind of swan lake and he looked very elegant, however, when he began his act I felt very disappointed as none of his movements seemed to flow very well as he was persistently being pulled about by the bungee's. It also appeared that he didn't quite have enough strength to pull the bungee's down in such a way that it looked effortless, he seemed to struggle on occasion. I also felt that cartwheels and front and back flips just weren't quite advanced enough if there was no element of 'show' I felt as though he didn't engage much with the audience, which is necessary on a stage whereby the audience is all around you.
Another act I very much enjoyed was the African one. It put me in a really good mood as there was lots of smiling and eye-contact from the performers. The music was very upbeat and I couldn't help but clap my hands and tap my feet. the act was very acrobatic with all of the men climbing up on top of one another to form huge towers and structures of people. I felt that the two women in the act framed it very nicely, and although they didn't do much the movement they had in their hips and stomachs was astounding and their smiling contagious. I know that Bill and Denise felt that they could have been doing much more to contribute to the act, but personally I really liked it and felt that without them to soften the act it would have been quite a harsh one with just lots of men jumping around.
There were also two girls who did some silk work, I enjoyed it very much, however cannot say that it was the best silk work I have ever seen. Both girls wore pink catsuits, however the ribbons were red and blue and obviously the girl on the red silk blended in a little, it took the dramatic effect away from her because the other girl stood out so much with the contrasting colours. Both were wonderfully flexible though and really worked hard to please the audience, stopping and smiling after every move. I did however feel that they could have added more of a dance element to their act, as it all seemed very: tie myself in, do the trick, smile, move on to the next trick. I felt there needed to be more linking moves, but it did inspire me to take up some aerial silks classes.
All in all the circus was really good and very enjoyable, there was an excellent atmosphere and I'm glad that I went, I know I haven't mentioned all of the acts here, but these are the ones that had the most impact on me.
I shared my review on 'the forum' this is where everybody from 101 PAG chats and shares information http://101pag.co.uk/forum/thread-535-post-5112.html#pid5112 this is a link to the thread which I shared it on. I would definitely recommend this circus performance to everyone! It was fun and a great night out with some really inspirational acts..... definitely something there for everyone! :D
Here is a link to the zippo's website: http://www.zipposcircus.co.uk/home.html
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| me at zippo's holding the programme. |
Find out about artists and arts organisations.
After watching zippo's circus I was even more inspired to join them, I e - mailed them to find out more about what I could do to better my chances of getting through the auditions when I turned 18. Here are the e-mails:
(I sent)
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to you with regards to the academy of circus arts. I am currently only 16 years of age however I am very interested in joining your training programme. I have wanted to join a circus all my life and only recently have I realised what sort of opportunities are available. I fully understand that I am too young at the moment to join you however I would be very grateful for any information you could send me regarding what I could do to heighten my chances of gaining a place. I already train with a proffessional circus company called Bill Brookman Productions ltd, I am also a very keen gymnast and I do gymnastics for 5 and a half hours a week. I perform on almost every other weekend with Bill Brookman productions but just wish I could do more. If you liaise with any other companies or projects similar to yours which are happy to take on under 18's, or if indeed yourselves would give me the opportunity to audition I would be overjoyed to hear from you. As I said earlier though I do undersatnd and accept if this isn't possible, however I would be grateful for anything you could advise me to do.
(they sent)
Hi Syan
Thank you for your enquiry to the Academy of Circus Arts. We’re pleased to hear of your interest in circus training, but as you know, we’re unable to accept students below the age of 18, mainly because our training is residential for the whole course.
It sounds as though you have made an excellent start in gaining performing experience. If you want to progress with your training, I recommend looking at the Circus Development Agency website at www.circusarts.org.uk, where there’s a useful directory of circus schools and training opportunities that may help you.
I suggest looking carefully at all the opportunities available before deciding which would be best for you. Many centres and circus schools have Facebook pages, and this might be a good way to hear about what’s going on, and perhaps contact people and discuss the options while you decide.
If you would like to complete and return our application form, I can then keep in touch with you and let you know when we’re in your area – it would be great if you are able to visit us and meet our students to help you chose.
I hope this is useful, and you are always welcome to email if I can help any further,
Kind regards
Nick Barltrop
Tel: 07774 60 80 90. International: 00 44 77 74 60 80 90.Thank you for your enquiry to the Academy of Circus Arts. We’re pleased to hear of your interest in circus training, but as you know, we’re unable to accept students below the age of 18, mainly because our training is residential for the whole course.
It sounds as though you have made an excellent start in gaining performing experience. If you want to progress with your training, I recommend looking at the Circus Development Agency website at www.circusarts.org.uk, where there’s a useful directory of circus schools and training opportunities that may help you.
I suggest looking carefully at all the opportunities available before deciding which would be best for you. Many centres and circus schools have Facebook pages, and this might be a good way to hear about what’s going on, and perhaps contact people and discuss the options while you decide.
If you would like to complete and return our application form, I can then keep in touch with you and let you know when we’re in your area – it would be great if you are able to visit us and meet our students to help you chose.
I hope this is useful, and you are always welcome to email if I can help any further,
Kind regards
Nick Barltrop
Mail: Circus Headquarters, Enborne, Newbury RG20 0LD. England.
Email:acircusarts@yahoo.co.uk Website: www.academycircusarts.co.uk
Circus Arts Academy Ltd trading as the Academy of Circus Arts.
Registered Charity No. 1097436
I sent my application form in and hope to hear from them sometime in the near future. I also explored the circusarts link that they sent me. I looked at what other circus based clubs were around in the east midlands. http://www.circusarts.org.uk/i-want-to/learn-circus-skills/youth-circus-workshop-database.php#east-midlands I might go along to the club in milton keynes as a one off, however, due to other commitments such as college, gymnastics and work this could be difficult, and I may have to settle with just e-mailing them, or phoning them to find out about what opportunities they offer which are different to the ones I already have at Bill Brookman productions.
I would like to join a circus when I am older and zippo's looks like it may be a promising one, with the academy of circus arts being my next step. http://www.zipposcircus.co.uk/aca/aca.htm of course I will continue to learn and perform with Bill brookman productions and I will also carry on with my gymnastics to keep my flexibility and strength up to a high standard.
I have of course spoken to Zippo's circus about future careers and I frequently work alongside Bill Brookman productions and see some of the behind the scenes work which goes into and pulls a performance together. So I feel that I have a good knowledge and understanding of how artists and arts organisations work.
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